It was a hat-trick of wins at the season-opening Xfinity Series race at the Daytona International Speedway for the Richard Childress Racing star Austin Hill on Monday. He became only the fourth Xfinity Series driver to win three or more consecutive races at Daytona in February, behind the likes of Tony Stewart (4), Dale Earnhardt Jr (3) and Dale Earnhardt (5).

The driver of the #21 car battled it out on the final lap with a man he had a massive falling out with towards the end of last season: His former teammate, Sheldon Creed. It was Creed’s aggressive racing that cost him a place in the 2023 championship 4 and beating him to the checkered flag must have felt like sweet revenge for the 29-year-old.

Austin Hill ecstatic as he completes the February Daytona “three-peat”

The race was marred with wrecks, as it saw as many as nine cautions. There might have been a 10th caution flag on the final lap of the United Rentals 300 as Ryan Sieg, who was in P3 when the white flag fell, was spun around. However, race control decided to let Creed and Hill fight to the finish instead of finishing it the way both the Truck and Cup Series races ended. As far as RCR is concerned, they can rest easy with one driver already into the playoffs.

After the disappointment of not making it into the championship 4 last season, this was a much-needed victory for the driver of the #21. Austin Hill will now be looking to build on this start and have a fantastic Xfinity Series season. The fact that he has made it into the playoffs in the first week will take a ton of pressure off but that’s something he has been experiencing for 3 years now. The RCR star was jubilant when he was interviewed immediately after the event as he acknowledged how tough it was to win at the Daytona International Speedway.

“This tops it all. I mean, a three-peat? You know how hard it is to win at Daytona? God almighty! I don’t know what was going on with me on pit road today but my guys just kept telling me look man, dig deep, you’re really good at these superspeedways. I tried to screw it up on pit road, spun on pit road slid through the box on the first stop but man this Chevrolet was as fast as  Xfinity 10G..thank you for all these fans that stuck it out. I know it’s late, I don’t even know what time it is. I know it’s past my bedtime but we’re about to party tonight, I can tell you that. I am so stoked. This is incredible,” the 29-year-old said after he got out of his car.

It was a good day overall for Richard Childress Racing as they swept the Xfinity Series event. Hill won the race and the stage 2 win while new recruit Jesse Love managed to finish P1 at the end of the first stage. he may have made it into the last 16 but Austin Hill is far from done when it comes to the regular season as he is targeting another win at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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Richard Childress Racing star sets sight on Atlanta after opening day triumph

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For a lot of drivers, winning a race early in the season means that they can take things a bit easier for the rest of the regular season, but that is not Austin Hill. Yes, a lot of the pressure will be off but there is a chance for the 29-year-old to become the 2024 Xfinity Series regular-season champion. The 29-year-old will be partying hard tonight but expressed his hunger to go out there next week and win the race at Atlanta. Given how good Hill is on superspeedways, he will be one of the strongest contenders over there as well.

“What’s up race fans? The three-peat is complete here at Daytona International Speedway. Such an honor to win this race. The United Rentals, that’s the title sponsor. We’re about to head back to Georgia, celebrate, have a good time, and get ready for Atlanta. We gotta go get us another one. Thanks for tuning in,” the driver of the #21 said.

The opening-week confidence booster goes a long way for a driver in his goal of becoming the series champion. Austin Hill has won the opening race twice before but has never become the Xfinity Series champion. He will be looking to break that curse this year and come out of the 2024 season as a first-time champion of the competition. Will the 29-year-old be able to do it? Let us know your thoughts.

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